


Ereri Mermaid AU: Beneath the Surface

by odz1994



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, M/M, Mermaid Levi Ackerman, Muteness, Prince Eren Yeager, Stolen Voice, Yaoi, ereri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-05 19:39:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11020194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odz1994/pseuds/odz1994
Summary: Levi is Prince of the Ocean. He rules beside his mother, Queen Kuschel. From the day he turned 16 years-old, she has been trying to find him a suitable suitor. Now at age 17, he has turned down just about every eligible mermaid in the kingdom. One day when he goes up to the surface, his eyes fall upon a human. Not just any human. A young prince named Eren. He knows that they could never be together, but he can't get the boy out of his head. Soon, Levi will have to choose what he really wants to do. Remain and merman so that he may marry and person he doesn't love. Or find a way to live on the surface as a human.





	1. Bride to Be?

Somewhere, meters under the ocean water laid a kingdom. A kingdom that was run by the Queen of the Ocean and her 17-year-old son. For months on end she has been trying to find a good suitor for her son to no avail. 

“What about her? What do you think of her?” Kuschel asked her son as she sat at her throne.

“Same as the others.” Levi muttered, his chin resting in his hand. You would think being the Prince of the Ocean would be a big deal to him. Frankly, he could care less. His mother on the other hand would rather have him pick out a wife and get married. 

“Levi, darling, you have turned down almost every single beautiful girl around.”

“I’m not interested.” He said simply.

“Well, you should be interested. You need to be married and have children.”

He rolled his eyes, “We have this conversation every single day.” 

“And we will have the same conversation until you pick a bride.”

“Fine. Whatever. Can I go back to my room?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he swam away from her and outside the throne room. He sighed heavily as he raked his fingers through his hair. If only she could just understand that he was not looking for a bride. He didn’t want one. Frankly because he wasn’t really interested in any of the women in his kingdom. Well, actually, he wasn’t interested in women at all. He didn’t swing that way whatsoever.

“Levi~!”

“Oh no.” Levi braced for impact as he was tackled to the ocean floor by, who he calls the Four-Eyed Menace, Hanji. The sand finally settled after it had managed to get into his eyes and mouth a bit. 

“Oh, for the love of Neptune get off of me!” He pushed her back, rubbing his eyes free of the gritty substance.

“Hehe, oh come on, you know you love me Levi.”

“I would rather love a barracuda.”

“Ah, come on. Don’t be like that.” She draped her arms over his shoulder, pushing all of her weight on him. His eye twitched in irritation as he looked back and glared at her.

“What do you want anyways?” He finally asked her.

“So, a little sea urchin told me that you like to gather items from shipwrecks that are from the surface world.”

He sighed heavily, “You mean Isabel told you?”

“Mhm.”

“Alright, what’s your point?” 

“Can you go up to the surface and gather some sea glass?” Hanji asked him with bright eyes.

“What the hell is sea glass?”

“They are broken pieces of those shiny containers you collect, or from some of the shipwrecks, that have been weathered by the ocean. I’ve heard there is some on the beach nearby. I would love to have some.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “And why can’t you go get it?”

“You understand more about the surface than I do.”

“Not really. You know more about this sea glass than I do.”

“Please Levi?” She folded her hands in front of her and pouted at him. 

“How pathetic. Fine. Just get out of my face.” Levi reached forward and flicked her forehead. She hugged him tightly before she swam off quickly so he couldn’t retaliate on her. He sighed heavily before he finally made his way back to his room. He grabbed a beige color pouch, tied it around his waist, and turned to leave his room once more.

He finally made his way up to the surface, shaking his head to shake off some of the dripping water. He looked around, quickly finding the beach that he supposed Hanji was talking about. He swam close to the shallow parts of the water. He glanced around the edges of the sand as he looked for the sea glass. At first, he only found a few seashells before something shining in the sunlight caught his eye. He reached into the sand and found a few pieces; there were red, blue and green. 

“I suppose Hanji will have to deal with these for now.” He dug up the pieces and placed the securely into the pouch. He sighed to himself as he continued to collect pieces of all sizes until his bag was full. 

“Armin, hurry up!” Levi glanced up in the direction of the voice. He squinted his eyes as he saw two male figures getting closer to the beach. 

“Shit.” He quickly looked around, finding a pier before he swam over and hid underneath. He was too far into the shallow waters to try and go back without them seeing him. He was glad there were rocks around where he was hiding, they definitely wouldn’t be able to see him.  
He got a better look at the figures as they approached the beach. There was a blonde-haired boy with a bowl-styled haircut dressed in casual clothes. He had a large object in his hands. What was it again? A book? Levi simply shook his head as he watched the boy sit down on the sand and open up the book. 

There was the boy who had made it to the beach seconds before him. Levi couldn’t take his eyes off of him. He had brown hair, that stopped just below his chin, and beautiful blue eyes. His clothes looked a bit nicer than the blonde who had come with him. Levi glanced around at his surroundings, seeing a castle in the distance. Perhaps this other boy was royalty like him. 

“Armin, we didn’t come down here so you could read some boring old book.” 

“It isn’t boring, Eren. It’s important to know what’s in the ocean.” Eren and Armin. Levi would have to remember those names. He watched as Eren kicked off his shoes and stripped off his shirt. He didn’t look much older than Levi, but he was already harboring a well-toned body. Levi watched as Eren got closer to the water before he noticed Armin look up at him. 

“Not so close, Eren.” 

“I’m just sticking my feet in. I’m not stupid enough to go into the water when I can’t swim.”

“I didn’t say you were stupid, Eren.” Armin said reassuringly.

“I know, but Mikasa does enough worrying.” He removed his shoes and socks before he stuck his feet in the water, sighing happily in content.

“Maybe you should just learn how to swim, Eren.” Armin suggested.

“I’d feel stupid asking for someone to help me do that now. I’m almost sixteen. I should have learned how to swim when I was like three.”

Levi watched as Eren had cupped up some water and splashed it as Armin’s feet. Armin quickly moved back a bit, guarding his book as if it were a newborn child. Levi covered his mouth to suppress a small laugh. 

“Did you hear that?” Eren asked Armin as he looked around.

“I didn’t hear anything other than the seagulls that are decided to flock the beach.” Armin brushed some of the sand from his trousers and walked over towards Eren. 

“It just sounded like someone laughing.”

“Let’s go back up to the castle. I’m sure your mother is getting worried.” Eren frowned a bit and picked up his socks and shoes before leaving the beach with him. Levi breathed a sigh of relief and decided it was best to just head back down. If him laughing ever so softly caught the boy’s attention, he really didn’t want to be seen. 

He made his way back into the palace where Hanji was waiting outside his room. She smiled brightly when she saw him untie the pouch from his waist and hand it to her. 

“You are such a doll, Levi.” She quickly snatched it from him, looking at the pieces of sea glass he had collected.

“Yeah, sure.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

“You seem distracted.”

“There were a couple humans down at the beach, so I had to hide. It’s fine.”

“Is that all?” She closed the pouch and placed her hands on her hips as she smirked at him.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason.” Levi crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow at her. “What did these humans look like?” She finally asked.

“Screw off, Hanji.”

“Ooh~ There was a pretty one, wasn’t there?”

“What does it matter? He’s human and I’m a merman. Two completely different species. Two different worlds. Never going to happen.”

She tapped her chin in thought, “Well since you’re thinking like that, your mother has another bride picked out for you.”

He huffed in irritation, “Of course she does.” He shook his head as he swam through the palace to the throne room where his mother was smiling and talking to a teenage mermaid with short, light orange hair.

“Ah, there you are.” His mother said, sounding slightly irritated.

“Yes, I’m here.” He said unamused. 

“Levi, this is Petra.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Prince Levi.” She smiled and extended her hand to him.

“It’s just Levi.” He glanced down to her hand, not really acknowledging it. This one, he could tell, would be difficult to get rid of.


	2. Shipwrecked

Levi was lounging back on a makeshift bed—made out of a large, flat rock—when he heard the sound of someone entering his grotto. 

“Yes?”

“Whatcha doin’?” Levi glanced over when he saw Isabel and Farlan had appeared.

“Just thinking.” He glanced around the grotto and all of the “treasures” he had found in various shipwrecks. 

“You really do have a lot of junk.” Farlan spoke out.

“Shut up.” Isabel smacked his shoulder.

Levi rolled his eyes at them, “Think what you want. I think these things are cool. I want to know more about these items.”

“That Petra girl is looking for you by the way.” Isabel said with a slight smile.

“She can keep looking. She doesn’t understand that I’m not interested.” Levi rolled onto his side, facing away from them.

“Maybe you should actually do what your mother wants for once.” Farlan told him.

“And be miserable for the rest of my life? No thanks.” Levi went over to a water globe and shook it. “I don’t understand why she gets so upset when I find these things. I don’t see what’s so wrong about it all.” 

“Humans hunt fish, Levi.” Farlan said with his arms crossed, “If they found out we existed, who knows what would happen to us. I don’t think you should delve too much into their world. You’ll get in trouble.” He sighed, “I’m going back to the castle. You two should follow soon before your mother sends out a search party.” Levi huffed a bit as he watched Farlan leave, looking at the water globe he had just shaken. The sparkles inside had settled to the bottom, revealing a castle that sat upon a cliff. 

“Don’t listen to him, Levi. I think this stuff is neat. The humans would appreciate how you want to learn from them. I don’t think they’d hurt us.

“I’ve been watching the humans, Isabel. One in particular. I think he’s a prince like me.” Levi rested his elbow on one of the many rocks as he listened to the tune play.  
“Well, that’s a bit weird. I can understand wanting to learn from them, but it sounds like you like this human.” 

“Maybe, he’s right though. Maybe there is something wrong with me. I just don’t understand how t a world that makes such wonderful things, could be bad.” He took the globe and wound it up, listening to the song that played through it as he sang along to its melody.

“Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the guy. The guy who has everything? Look at this trove. Treasures untold. How many wonders can one cavern hold? Looking around here you think, sure, he's got everything. I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty. I've got whozits and whatzits galore. You want things of above? I've got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. I want more.”

Levi sighed and glanced back at Isabel. “I wanna be where the people are. I wanna see, wanna see them dancin'. Walking around on those - what do you call 'em? Oh – feet. Flippin' your fins, you don't get too far. Legs are required for jumping, dancing. Strolling along down a - what's that word again? Street. Up where they walk, up where they run. Up where they stay all day in the sun. Wanderin' free - wish I could be. Part of that world. What would I give if I could live out of these waters? What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand? Bet'cha on land they understand that they don't reprimand their own sons. Bright, strong men. sick of swimming. Ready to stand. And ready to know what the people know. Ask 'em my questions and get some answers. What's a fire? And why does it - what's the word? Burn? When's it my turn? Wouldn't I love, love to explore the world up above? Out of the sea...wish I could be...part of that world....” 

“I never knew that you felt that way, Levi.” Isabel frowned a bit. 

“Don’t tell anyone. If Farlan finds out, he will most likely tell mother.”

She made a zip-locking action against her lips, “You have my word.” He nodded and put the water globe down before the two exited the grotto.

“I may be able to use this to my advantage.” A voice from the shadows spoke as a low chuckle resonated through the empty room. 

XxX

“Levi, where on Earth have you been?!” His mother was frowning as her arms were crossed over her chest. 

“I was out. Give me a break and stop hovering over me for carp’s sake.” 

“Petra has been asking about you all day. I want you two to spend some time together.” She said sweetly.

“And if I refuse.”

“You don’t have a choice.” 

“I don’t see how I don’t.”

“Because I’m your mother, and as long as you live under my waters you will listen to what I tell you.”

Levi huffed and rolled his eyes, “Fine whatever.” He glanced around the throne room before returning his attention to his mother. “Well, where is she?”

“She’s outside waiting for you.” He simply shook his head and left the throne room, seeing Petra waiting right outside the door. 

“Good afternoon, Levi.” She smiled at him

“Yeah, good afternoon.” He said unamused as he made his way to his grotto, not caring if she was following behind him. He grabbed his pouch and secured it around his shoulder as he turned around, almost bumping into Petra who was looking around the grotto with her mouth agape. 

“Where did all of this come from?” She asked as she swam over to some of the shelving fixtures, picking up one of its trinkets.

“I found them. Put it down.” He took it from her and placed it back where it belonged. 

“Found them where?” She asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Is that really any of your business?” He questioned her in an annoyed tone as he left the grotto.

“Well, Levi, if I’m going to be your wife I think I have the right to know where you disappear to all them time.” She glanced back at the hidden entrance before turning back to him, flapping her fins a bit faster to catch up to his speed. “Those belongings aren’t of our world, so it’s obvious that you go to all of the abandoned shipwrecks in the waters.”

“Congratulations you’ve figured it out. Pat yourself on the shoulder.” He said in a sarcastic tone.

“That’s dangerous, Levi.”

“Yay, now you sound like my mother.” He rolled his eyes and continued on his path. 

“Where are we even going?” 

“Take a wild guess. Go back home. You’ll just get in my way.”

“Not going to happen.” She easily kept up with him, having a determined look on her face. Levi sighed and shook his head. She is definitely more stubborn than all of the others. 

The two soon approached the shipwreck that Levi had scouted out several days prior. The main mast was split in two, still being held together by just a splinter. The slightest touch would probably cause it collapse. The main deck, as well as the cargo hold had several holes from the impact of the ship hitting the ocean’s floor. He swam closer and stopped just feet from the ship, holding an arm out to stop Petra. 

“Don’t make any loud noises. I’ve seen sharks around here before.” 

“Sharks?!”

“What the hell did I just get finished saying?” he huffed and swam closer, easily fitting through one of the holes in the side of the ship. Levi began to search through the boxes that were still intact from sunken ship. He found several artifacts that he had not seen before. There were small metal, three-pronged items that looked similar to his mother’s trident. He took a couple and put them into his pouch.

Once he was finished searching those few boxes, he made his way to the back of the ship. There was a cabin back there that looked to belong to a woman. He didn’t pry too much in the drawers that contained clothing. He did find an object that sat atop the dresser, however. He picked it up so he could examine it more, jumping a bit when he saw himself looking back. 

“How odd.”

“What is it?” Petra asked him, seeing herself as well as she peeked over his shoulder. Levi tapped the image to feel its surface. 

“I believe its like a looking glass. Except its pocket sized. I’ve never seen one so small.” 

“I think we should get going. I don’t like it here.” Petra said to him as she looked around the dark room. 

“I’m not finished yet.” 

“Yeah, well, I have a bad feeling is all. You said you saw sharks here before and I thought I saw one outside.” 

“Fine.” Levi sighed and left the room, exiting the ship the same way he entered. “See? There’s nothing out here.” He told her as he swam around the ship, stopping at its bow to examine the figurehead that was carved into it. 

“Why did you stop?” She asked him as she wrapped her arms around herself.

“A lot of the ships I encounter have these images carved into them. The humans have remarkable items, but their interpretation of us is very crude. We don’t have gills or fins sticking out of our necks.”

“And we don’t go topless.” Petra scoffed as she looked at the female’s figure. 

“Alright, let’s get out of here.” Levi told her as he turned to swim away. There was a cracking sound as the mast in the center of the ship fell, causing the rest of it to collapse as a cloud of dust and sand blocked its image. 

“Good thing we got out of there, huh.” Petra said in relief. 

“We’re not out of here yet. Swim. Fast.” Levi ordered her as the sound of rushing water got closer to them. From out of the dust came a shark baring its teeth at them. 

“Levi?!” Petra squealed a bit as the shark narrowly missed his fins. He grabbed her and pushed her forward, looking for any small area where the shark wouldn’t be able to reach them. He found a crack in the wall and followed it down, seeing a small enough hole for the two of them to squeeze through. 

“Go there.” He pointed to the hole as he used himself as a diversion to give her enough time. Luckily, Levi was just a bit quicker than the shark so he was able to keep it at bay as he waited for Petra to get out. He made a loop around the remains of the ship before making his way to hole. He was about halfway through before his face contorted a bit in pain, and his body slowly started to be pulled back. Petra grabbed his wrists and pulled him back through the hole. 

“Motherfucker bit me.” Levi grimaced as the salt water soaked into wound on the side of his fin.

“We need to get out of here. Sharks can smell blood for miles.” 

“I need to get it patched up or something first or it’ll follow us home.” Levi told her as he yanked some seaweed out of the sand. “Here, be useful and stick this to my fin.” She nodded and took the seaweed from him, pressing it against the wound so that the blood would cohere to it. 

“There. That’s as good as it gets.” 

“Yeah thanks.” He glanced back at the hole he had barely escaped from before the two of them made it back to the palace.


	3. Forbidden Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a near death experience, Levi rescues Eren from a watery grave. The feelings inside him make him realize he is soon in love with the human. But who is the mysterious figure that has been watching him.

**Eren’s POV**

This whole situation was stupid. “You’re coming of age, Eren. You should marry soon. The kingdom will be yours one day.” I mocked my mother’s words as I made my way back down to the beach, quickly removing my shoes and socks. I kicked my feet in the sand as I walked along the shore, glancing out to the open waters in front of me. 

“Would anyone even notice if I just jumped in and disappeared?” I sighed as my shoved my hands in my pockets. “I mean, mother still has Mikasa. She can have the throne for all I care. I just want to be able to walk around freely without expecting everyone to greet me with respect.” 

I shook the thought from my mind as I walked over to the pier, sitting down at its edge as my feet dangled just above the water; my toes skimming the surface. I stared back out at the water, as my attention focused on a giant rock in the middle of his field of view. It almost looked as if there was someone out there. When I rubbed my eyes and looked back, there was no one there. There’s no way someone would swim that far out. I knew it was just the water playing tricks on me.

“I’m surprised Armin hasn’t come searching for me yet. He probably knows that I don’t want any company right now. Not after how I stormed out of the castle.” I shook my head. That was the first time I had ever really yelled at my mother. Sure, I got mad when I was little but this was different. 

“Hey…!” I glanced up from the sound, glancing around me for the person who spoke. I looked out at the water, squinting my eyes, and saw someone frantically moving about in the water.

“Help me…!” I blinked and stood up quickly. I knew I saw someone out there earlier. What am I supposed to do? If I try to go get help they might drown. If I try to help them, I might drown. Screw it. If I die, I die helping someone who needed it. I took a few steps back before running and jumping of the pier and into the ocean. 

I gasped as I quickly came up for air, moving my arms continuously so that I could stay afloat. Curse me for never learning how to swim. I looked around frantically, not seeing the other person. “Shit. They must have already gone under.” I swam a bit further out as I looked below me in the water for any sign of life. There was no one. My eyes widened suddenly when I felt the current pull me back further. I looked up at the sky and saw the sun had gone and storm clouds were coming in. 

“This is just great…” I muttered as I started to swim back before a wave crashed into me, sending me under the water. I panicked and breathed in suddenly, sucking in the salt water as I tried to make it back up to the surface. This is where I die…

**XxX**

**Third POV**

“Levi Ackerman, how could you do something so stupid and reckless?! And to get Petra involved with it as well?! I’m beyond words.” Kuchel scolded Levi once he had returned to the palace. If the wound on his fin wasn’t obvious as to what happened, Petra’s big mouth definitely helped with his mother’s assumptions. 

“Are you finished?” Levi asked her

“No, I’m not finished. I am so sick of how you’ve been acting and it needs to stop. Just go back to your room and don’t go anywhere until I call for you.”

“Are you really going to treat me like a child?”

“You’re acting like one. I don’t care if you don’t want to marry Petra. She’s the only one who’s stayed around long enough to even consider it.”

He ran a hand through his hair roughly, “You want to know why I don’t want to marry her, and all of the other girls who have thrown themselves at me?! I’m not interested in girls. Never have been. I like guys.”

“Well, stop it. No respectable future heir to the throne is going to be married to a merman. Fake it for all I care.”

“Wow, you really are so shallow about all of this. You only care about yourself.” Levi huffed and left the throne room before going towards his secret grotto. 

“Levi!” He glanced back and saw Isabel and Farlan swimming towards him. “Hey, what happened?”

“Leave me alone, Isabel.” 

“Whoa.” She stopped and looked at him, “What happened to your fin?”

“A shark bit me while I went to a shipwreck. And now I am apparently grounded because Petra was stupid enough to follow me out there.” 

“So, you are going to your grotto?” 

“Yes, because no one knows about this, and I don’t want to see anyone right now.” He sighed and was almost to his grotto before a shadow from above caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes as a figure in the water above began to thrash a bit. 

“What is that?” Isabel asked him as she looked as well.

“It’s a human.” He glanced at her before he quickly swam up towards the body that slowly started to descend deeper into the water. As he got closer to the body, he noticed it was Eren; the human he had been watching in secret for some time. He grabbed him and pulled him back up to the surface, carefully dragging him up onto the beach. The sky was beginning to clear from a storm that had just finished. 

“Levi!” He saw Isabel moving closer to him as he examined Eren’s body. “Is he dead?” 

“I…I don’t think so.” He placed his head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat. “No, he has a heartbeat. God, isn’t he beautiful?” Levi said as he brushed some hair from Eren’s face.  
“Is that the human you were telling me about?”

“Yeah, it is. He can’t swim. Why was he even in the water?” 

“We should get back.” Farlan said as he popped up out of the water.

Levi ignored them as he softly caressed Eren’s face as he sang softly, “What would I give to live where you are? What would I pay to stay here beside you? What I do to see you smiling at me? Where would we walk? Where would we run? If we could stay all in the sun. Just you and me, and I could be part of your world.” Eren’s hand came up to touch Levi’s as his eyes opened a bit, blinking from being blinded from the sun as he tried to focus on the face in front of him. 

“Eren?!” Levi looked up quickly as he saw the blonde-haired boy from before and a girl with long, black hair running down to the beach. He backed away and quickly jumped back into the water, pulling Isabel with him. He hid behind a nearby rock as he watched the two pick up Eren. 

“You had us worried sick.” The girl said.

“What happened to you? Your clothes are soaked.” Armin asked him.

Eren pushed them off of him as he walked along the beach, “I uhm fell into the water. There was a boy. He rescued me…and he was singing. He had the most amazing voice.” Eren faltered back a bit as the girl caught him. 

“I think you swallowed too much sea water, Eren.”

“I’m fine, Mikasa.”

“Nevertheless, Armin and I are helping you home.” 

Levi was resting against the rock as Farlan glanced to the two of them, “We are just going to forget this whole thing ever happened. Your mother will never find out. I won’t tell her. You won’t tell her.” He glanced to Isabel, who nodded in agreement. 

Levi watched as Eren glanced back towards the beach, singing softly to himself. “I don’t know when. I don’t know how. But I know something’s starting right now. Watch and you’ll see, someday I’ll be part of your world.” He slid down from the rock and followed Farlan and Isabel back down to the palace.

Somewhere deep in the ocean, inside a cave far from the palace lived a warlock. You could hear him laughing silently to himself as he glanced at the crystal ball in the middle of his room.

“Oh ho, this is just too much. The child is in love with a human. Ackerman would fall on her face if she found out her headstrong son was in love with a human prince.” He glanced back at the entrance way, “However, he would make a wonderful edition to my little collection of souls. I can use this to my advantage. . Perhaps I could mess with this human even more. Considering my little illusion worked earlier.”


	4. Seal Your Fate

Levi was in his grotto placing the items he found from the shipwreck the other day on one of the empty shelves. He hummed to himself as he did so; not even giving notice that Farlan and Isabel were watching him. The pair looked to each other before back to Levi. 

“Uhm Farlan?”

“Yeah?”

“Is Levi…smiling…?”

“Yeah, that’s not good. This has to stop.” Farlan shook his head and went over to Levi. “You seem to be in a good mood today.” 

Levi looked back at him as he finished up, “Am I? I haven’t noticed.” 

“Haven’t noticed? Levi, you’re smiling. You don’t smile. You’ve never smiled.”

“First time for everything.” The three left the grotto as Levi was going the opposite direction of the palace, making his way up towards the surface.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Farlan stopped him by grabbing his forearm.

“I’m going up to try and see him again.”

“Are you insane? What part of human and merman don’t you understand? You don’t belong up there. Down here is where you belong.” He ran a hand through his hair, “Just deal with it. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“You don’t think he needs to know who saved his life?”

“You’re just going to make things more difficult on you when it’s time to let go.”

“You don’t understand because you’re too fixated on keeping the status quo here.” Levi said to him.

“What happens if he rejects you?” Farlan crossed his arms, “What happens if he’s the exact opposite of what you think and they send people into the ocean to capture us for some sick experiments.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“Neither do you. All you know is that he’s a human with a pretty face. That’s it.” 

Levi narrowed his eyes and pushed Farlan back slightly, “Just leave me alone.” He huffed and continued on his way. 

Farlan raked his fingers through his hair as Isabel came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, “This needs to end. All of this.”

“Farlan, don’t do something you’ll regret.” Isabel warned. 

“He’s going to get himself killed. This is for his own good.” Farlan removed her hand and made his way towards the palace.

“Levi~!” He jumped slightly and glanced behind him, seeing Hanji swimming towards him quickly.

“Don’t you try to stop me either.” He told her.

“Stop you from what?”

“Nothing. What do you want?” He stopped just before hitting the surface. 

“I just wanted to see what you were doing today is all. If you’re going up to the surface, I would love to accompany you so that I may look for more sea glass.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Just don’t tell anyone what I’m doing.”

She grinned in realization, “Ah, does this have to do with that human boy?”

“Pfft. No.” 

“Terrible liar. You’re so cute, Levi. Just be careful.”

“Yeah yeah.” Levi turned back around and made his way to the surface with Hanji following behind him. He made sure to steer clear of land, using the rocks in the shallow parts as cover, as he and Hanji got closer to where he usually saw Eren. Levi kept an eye out for any human as Hanji went forth to search the beach’s edge for sea glass. 

“Hanji. Someone’s coming. Get over here.” Levi spoke quietly as she made her way to his hiding spot.

“Good thing I got just as much as I wanted too.” She smiled at him before glancing up at the human visitors; a blonde and brunette. “Is that him?”

“His name is Eren. The brunette. The one who’s eyes mimic the ocean.”

“Levi, you’re so cute. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were in love.” She paused and glanced at him. She saw the sparkle in his eyes as he watched Eren and smiled sadly. “You are in love with him, aren’t you?” 

“I shouldn’t be, but there’s something about him. It seemed like just an infatuation until I rescued him the other week. Watching him up close like that...I don’t know how to describe it. It just makes my heart pound.” 

“You’re only going to get hurt, Levi. There’s no way it could happen.” She sighed as she went back to watching the two boys talking to one another as they sat on the beach. 

“You don’t think I know that? I just wish there was. I hate the fact that I am being forced into a marriage with a girl that I don’t like nor want. Mother even knows that I’m not into girls, and she doesn’t care. Life on land seems a hell of a lot simpler than down there.”

“Come on. Let’s get back before they notice us.” Hanji said in hopes she could coax him back down.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Levi and Hanji ducked back down into the waters as they swam deep down back towards the palace. 

“You coming?” Hanji asked him as he stopped a bit behind her.

“I’m just going to go back to my grotto for a bit.” Hanji nodded as she watched him swim on before heading back towards her home. 

Levi moved the rock that sealed the entrance and swam inside, stopping abruptly with wide eyes. “M-Mother…?”

“So, this is what you’ve been doing?” She asked him as she held a snow globe in one hand while her trident was in the other. “Sneaking off to see those shipwrecks and bringing back their belongings.”

“You don’t underst-“

“Don’t you dare. I’ve warned you about them. They’re dangerous. And you…you go up there so you can try and fraternize with them. For what? So that they can hunt us down?”

“That’s not what I’m doing!”

“Keeping such a secret from me. Disobeying my orders. All for what? A human boy.”

Levi narrowed his eyes slightly, “How do you know about that?”

“Not denying it then? You’re a merman, Levi. He’s human. Get that through your thick skull. I thought you were old enough to know better, but I guess I was wrong about that. I’ll have to teach you with force.” She said quietly as she placed the snow globe back on the shelf and raised her trident.

“What are you doing?” Levi asked cautiously.

“Something that should had been done a long time ago.” The trident began to glow as Levi’s eyes widened slightly.

“No, don’t!” He raised his arms up to shield his eyes and face as his treasures just began to combust and shatter around him from the power of his mother’s fury. Everything fell from the shelves and became more ruined than the water had already made them prior to him finding them. It all happened so quickly, but to Levi it felt like ages before the water cleared and he saw all the destruction around him. 

“What have you done…?!” He covered his mouth and closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep himself from losing it. 

Kuchel’s anger died as she saw Levi’s face and the anguish she had caused. She didn’t feel guilty about doing this whatsoever. “You’ll get over it.” She said simply as she left him there surrounded by debris. 

Levi opened his eyes as his shoulder’s slumped, examining the damage from everything. He found the tiny figure of a castle that inside his favorite snow globe among the shattered pieces.

“Levi…” He glanced back and saw Isabel’s head poking through the entrance.

“Go away…”

“Levi, come on.” Isabel swam inside and wrapped her arms around him.

“Get off of me…” He shrugged her away as he absentmindedly searched through the debris. 

“Where is he…?”

“Who?”

“Farlan.”

“Outside.”

“I hope you’re happy…! Everything is gone…! And it’s all your fault...!” Levi yelled towards the entranceway. 

“I didn’t think she’d go this far.” Farlan retorted as he appeared in the makeshift doorway. 

“You had no right. I trusted you with this secret and you went and had that trust blown up in my face. Get out. Both of you.”

“Levi….” Isabel tried.

“Get out…!” He threw a random stone from the floor at the wall in anger. Isabel jumped a bit and left with Farlan following behind her. Levi laid his arms on one of the many barren shelves now as he buried his face in his arms, breaking down into tears. 

“Poor Child.”

“Poor, misunderstood Child.” Levi glanced up and saw two eels speaking to him. 

“Who are you?” 

“We are but messengers from Jean, the Sea Warlock himself.” One spoke.

“Sea Warlock? No thanks. I’ve heard stories about that guy. None of them good.” Levi muttered and he rubbed his eyes. 

“Oh? But what if we told you he’s found a way to give you what you most desire.” The other spoke.

Levi sat up slightly, “I’m listening.”

“You’ll have to follow us and talk with him yourself. He’s not the creature people have spoken about in those stories. This is your only chance.” The eels turned and began to leave. 

“Wait.” Levi swam up to them and nodded as he followed them out of the grotto. They were only a few feet away from the grotto before Isabel and Farlan had caught up with the three of them. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Farlan asked him.

“They’re taking me to see Jean.”

Farlan practically choked as he gasped, “You can’t be serious? He’s crazy, Levi. You’ll get yourself killed.” Farlan grabbed his forearm. 

“Why don’t you go tell my Mother. You’re good at that.” Levi spat at him as he yanked his arm away and caught back up with the eels. 

“What are we going to do, Farlan?” Isabel asked in worry.

“We follow him. He’s gonna need our help.” 

**XxX**

Levi stopped as they approached the skeleton of a leviathan. “What is that thing?” He asked.  
“This is his lair.” The eel on his left said. 

“This is a bit disturbing.”

“Well, where would you stay if you were shunned from living in the palace by your mother.” The eel on the right told him.

“Good point.”

“Come in~ Come in, my child. We mustn’t lurk in doorways.” A voice coaxed them from deep inside the lair. Levi swallowed thickly as he followed them the rest of the way in. Isabel and Farlan were cautious as they swam inside, seeing wriggling creatures along the bottom of the skeleton throughout the entranceway. 

“Ah, there he is. Prince Levi, what a pleasure it is to meet you.” Levi glanced to the side where he saw a half man, half octopus appear from out of a whole in the wall. His skin was gray and he moved around on his tentacles.

“How do you know my name?”

“Dear boy, I know everything. Especially about your little dilemma. Your mother really is a terrible person, isn’t she?”

Levi scoffed as he looked at him, “You could say that.”

“Now, you’re here because you have a thing for this human. Not that I blame you. He is quite a catch, isn’t he?” He chuckled darkly. “Well, Angelfish, the solution is very simple. The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself.”

“Can you do that?” Levi questioned in disbelief. 

Jean raised an eyebrow and smirked at him, making his way over to him and placing a finger under his chin, “My dear, sweet child, that's what I do. It's what I live for. To help unfortunate merfolk like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to.”

He turned back around and began to rummage through one of his cabinets, singing to himself. “I admit that in the past I've been a nasty. They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a seer. But you'll find that nowadays, I've mended all my ways. Repented, seen the light, and made a switch. True? Yes.” He smirked to his eels as they helped him gather supplies before moving to the cauldron in the center of the room. 

“And I fortunately know a little magic. It's a talent that I always have possessed. And dear Princey, please don't laugh. I use it on behalf of the miserable, the lonely, and depressed. Pathetic.” He mumbled the last word as he threw a potion into the cauldron, creating an illusion of two merperon’s. “Poor unfortunate souls. In pain, in need. This one longing to be thinner. That one wants to get the girl. And do I help them? Yes, indeed. Those poor unfortunate souls. So sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron. Crying, "Spells, Warlock, please!" And I help them. Yes, I do.” Jean sighed and leaned against the cauldron, watching his illusions. “Now it's happened once or twice. Someone couldn't pay the price, and I'm afraid I had to rake 'em 'cross the coals. Yes, I've had the odd complaint. But on the whole, I've been a saint to those poor unfortunate souls”

He wrapped a tentacle around Levi’s waist and pulled him closer. “Now, here’s the deal. I will make you a potion that will turn you human for three days. Got that? Three days. Now, listen, this is important. So, before the sun sets on the third day, you have to get dear old Princey to fall in love with you.” 

He glanced to Levi who looked confused, “That means he has to kiss you. Not just any kiss. The kiss of true love~. If he happens to kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you’ll remain human permanently. However, if he doesn’t you turn back into a merman and…” He smirked, “You belong to me.”

“No Levi…” Jean’s eels silenced Farlan by wrapping their tails around his mouth, his muffled voice trying to get through. 

“Have we got a deal then?” Jean asked him.

Levi thought for a moment, “If I become human, I'll never be with my mother or see any of my friends again.” 

“That’s right, but you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?” Jean chuckled as he began to walk away. “Oh, and there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment.” He tapped his lips with his index finger.

“But I don't have-” 

Jean placed a finger over Levi’s lips to silence him, “I'm not asking much, just a token really, a trifle. You’ll never even miss it. What I want from you is…your voice.”

Levi placed a hand over his throat slightly  “My voice?” 

“You got that, Sweetcakes. No more talking, singing, zip.” He made the ‘p’ pop with his lips. 

“But without my voice, how can I-”

“You'll have your looks; your pretty face…” The warlock lightly tapped his cheek, “And don't underestimate the importance of body language, ha!” he said as he thrusted his hips. 

He began to throw bottle after bottle into the cauldron as he went back to singing. “The men up there don't like a lot of blabber. They think a boy who gossips is a bore. Yet on land it's much preferred for boys not to say a word, and after all dear, what is idle babble for? Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation. True gentlemen avoid it when they can, but they dote and swoon and fawn on a boy who is withdrawn. It's he who holds his tongue who gets a man.” The cauldron began to glow and illuminate the entire room.

“Come on, you poor unfortunate soul! Go ahead! Make your choice! I'm a very busy person and I haven't got all day. It won't cost much, just your voice! You poor unfortunate soul. It's sad but true” He wrapped and arm around Levi’s shoulder before conjuring up a golden contract and pen. “If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet. You've got the pay the toll. Take a gulp and take a breath, and go ahead and sign the scroll. Bertholdt, Reiner, now I've got him, boys. The boss is on a roll! This poor unfortunate soul!” 

Levi grabbed the pen and quickly signed his name. The contract rolled back up and made its way back into Jean’s hands before he threw it into the cauldron. He started to chant a spell as he waved his hands over the pot, the room beginning to turn a sickening green color. “Beluga sevruga, Come winds of the Caspian Sea. Larengix glaucitis. Et max laryngitis. La voce to me.” He raised his hands and two similar hands, made of what Levi supposed was the potion, appeared behind Jean. 

“Now, sing~” 

“Aa-aa-aah, a-aa-aah.” As Levi held onto the same notes he noticed the hands getting closer to him. 

“Keep singing!” Jean’s eyes looked as if they had changed to a reddish color as he laughed a bit to himself.

“Aa-aa-aah, a-aa-aah” Levi’s head leaned back as the two hands reached inside his mouth and down his throat. His eyes widened and he clutched his throat as he saw them leaving with a glowing, golden orb that continued to sing his tune. Jean was biting his lip in anticipation as his voice was sucked into the seashell he wore around his neck. 

Levi glanced around as it had become quiet, spotting Isabel and Farlan in the background watching him. Suddenly, he was pulled into an amber bubble as he could feel his tail being ripped apart. He tried to scream but only bubbles came out of his mouth. Jean was laughing maniacally throughout the entire ordeal. Levi’s tail was split in two then replaced with two legs. He began gasping for air once the bubble had disappeared. Farlan and Isabel quickly grabbed him and swam up to the surface, hoping they could get him there in time.


	5. Only Human

Farlan and Isabel dragged Levi to the shallow waters, keeping him and themselves hidden. 

“God he’s heavy…” Farlan muttered before glancing to Levi, “Oh great.”

“Is he dead?” Isabel questioned.

“I sure as hell hope not. This was just a huge waste of time if he is.” Farlan nudged his shoulder, “Levi.”

“That’s not working.”

“Levi!” Farlan slapped him, causing his eyes to shoot open as he started to cough up water. He gasped a bit as he caught his breath before pushing Farlan back in return to the slap. Levi went to open his mouth to yell at him before he remembered he couldn’t speak. 

“That’s probably the best part of this. I don’t have to listen to you complain.” Farlan smirked at him.

“How do you feel?” Isabel asked Levi to which he simply shrugged. 

“You should try standing.” Farlan told Levi as he helped him up. Levi’s legs trembled as his knees buckled, sending him back into the water on his butt. He grunted slightly as an expression of pain was written all over his face. 

“There you guys are~!” Levi’s eyes widened when he heard Hanji’s voice. He quickly hid behind Isabel, making sure Hanji didn’t see him.

“W-What are you doing here, Hanji?” Isabel asked as she tried to keep her cool.

“Well, I was looking for Levi but then I saw the two of you swim up towards the surface. You guys never do that, so I figured that maybe Levi was up here somewhere.”

“He’s not here, so why don’t you ju-” Hanji swam past Farlan, seeing Levi hidden behind Isabel.

“What are you doing?” She grinned at him and got closer, her eyes widening slightly. “Oh my god. Levi, your tail...I-It’s gone! How is it gone?!” She was both in a panicked and excited mood.

“Levi made a deal with the Sea Warlock. He took Levi’s voice in exchange for legs.” Isabel said quickly.

“Way to keep it a secret, Isabel.” Farlan shot her an annoyed look; as did Levi.

“This is incredible!” She grabbed Levi’s leg and poked at the skin. “So, it is like our torso and arms then. Very interesting!” Levi swatted her away and went to stand again. He fell backwards onto her, causing her to poke at him more. 

“What is that thing?” Isabel asked as she pointed to the appendage between Levi’s newly acquired legs. 

“It’s just dangling there.” Farlan commented. Hanji, in all of her curiousness, decided to poke at it as well. Levi smacked her hand away again, glaring at her.

“Oh, oh wait! I know what that is! I read it in one of Levi’s books once about Human Anatomy. This is how the male humans participate in reproduction.”

“With that?” Farlan raised an eyebrow.

“Humans are weird.” Isabel muttered.

“So, what was the plan with all of this?” Hanji asked with intrigue.

“Levi has to get that stupid human boy to kiss him in three days, or he goes back to being a Merman and that Warlock takes his soul or whatever.” Farlan told her.

“Wow, uhm that is one hell of a risk.” Hanji glanced down at Levi, “We need to get him some clothing though. At least something to cover up his lower half.” She moved Levi off of her and leaned him against a rock before jumping back into the water. 

“Where the hell does she think she’s going?” Farlan pinched the bridge of his nose. He almost jumped out of his skin when Hanji popped back up in front of him.

“So, I found some old fabric and a rope down in Levi’s old grotto.” Hanji told them as she wrapped and tied it around Levi’s waist. It almost resembled a skirt from the way it looked, but at least it covered up everything that it needed to.

“He looks stupid now.” Farlan muttered as he shook his head. Levi had finally made himself onto land, leaning against a nearby palm tree so that she wouldn’t fall back down. 

“We’ll be keeping an eye out for you, Levi. Oh, and don’t worry your mother will never find out about this.” Isabel winked at him before the three of them jumped back into the water.   
Levi sighed and let himself sit down on the sand. Now that he was human, what the hell was he supposed to do with it? He doesn’t know his way around this world, and he would just stand out like a sore thumb if he walked around their town wearing old fabric. He was yanked out of his thoughts when he heard voices coming from behind him. 

“Hey, are you okay?!” Levi jolted up and took off, stumbling a bit before running over to a rock that was conveniently placed on the beach, and climbing up on top of it. He got a better look at the person who had yelled at him. It was the blonde boy that was always with Eren. 

“Armin, why are you yelling?” Eren caught his breath as he made his way over to his friend.

“There was a guy just laying in the sand. I thought maybe he had passed out from heatstroke, but when I yelled at him he took off over that way.” Eren nodded as he and Armin made their way to where Levi had run. 

“Hey, what are you doing up there?” Eren raised an eyebrow when he saw Levi, breathing heavily as he was resting on his hands and knees on top of the rock. Levi’s eyes widened as he stood up, his knees giving way again as he fell backwards. 

“Whoa hey!” Eren ran forward and caught him in his arms. Levi’s eyes were glued shut before he slowly opened them, seeing he was being held by Eren. His face reddened as he looked away, not being able to handle the close proximity. Eren placed him back on his feet as he continued to look him over as Armin watched them from a distance.

“You look…familiar to me. Have we met?” Eren asked him as he looked into his steel colored eyes. Levi nodded quickly with a slight smile on his face. 

“I knew it. You must be the one I was looking for. What’s your name?” Levi went to answer him, but no words escaped his mouth. “What’s wrong?” Levi tapped his throat. “Oh, you can’t speak. You must not be the one I thought you were then.” 

Levi huffed and blew some hair from his face before he got an idea. He began to try and mime out who he was and where he came from. He was making outlandish movements with his arms as Eren watched him a bit confused. 

“Man, you’ve really been through a lot. Armin and I will take you back home as we try to figure out what happened to you okay?” Levi nodded as Eren wrapped an arm around him. “Armin, come on.”

“Coming Eren!” Armin ran and caught up to them. 

“First things first though, we’ll have to find you some actual clothes. I’m not sure where yours went, but that thing is not going to cut it.” Eren laughed a bit, but it was endearing.

“I can help with that while you explain to your mother and father what has happened.” Armin volunteered as they led Levi to the castle in the distance. 

Armin led Levi to the bath, filling a tub with soap and water before helping him into it. Levi touched the bubbles filling the water curiously as he watched Armin gather up some towels. 

“I’ll go find you a change of clothes. I will be right back.” Levi watched Armin leave the room as he gathered up bubbles in his hands. He brought his hand up to his mouth, flicking his tongue over the substance in his hands. He grimaced and shook his head from the taste. Definitely not trying that again. 

“I hope these will fit. I found them in the old storage closet. You are a bit smaller than Eren it seems, so I’m really praying.” Armin smiled slightly at him as he helped him finish getting clean.

XxX

“So, you found a boy naked on the beach?” Carla questioned.

“Well, he wasn’t completely naked. He had some sort of cloth covering him up. He seemed really confused.”

“Darling, I don’t know-“

“What if his ship crashed somewhere and he was the only survivor? There has to be some explanation for him showing up on the beach.”

Carla smiled softly and walked over to him, “Just be careful. Your father and I are going out to town. Make sure you guys get something to eat.” 

“We will. Have fun.” Eren watched his parents leave the room as his sister, Mikasa, entered wearing a pink dress and a matching bow keeping her long, black hair back. 

“You look nice, Mika.” 

She smiled slightly, “Thanks. I heard you talking to mother about that boy you found. Sounds suspicious to me.”

“You think everything is suspicious. Armin said he looked scared when he first saw him.”

“I still think you should be careful of this stranger.” 

Just as she finished her sentence, Armin walked Levi into the dining room where Mikasa and Eren had been talking. Eren was resting his elbow against the wall and looked up when he saw them. He blinked a couple times after the realization. Levi was wearing a dark blue puff sleeve men’s blouse, a brown vest with golden lining, grey dress pants, and a cravat to tie the outfit altogether. Eren was amazed at how well he looked dressed up. This definitely didn’t look like the same boy he had seen on the beach just a couple hours ago. Levi caught Eren’s glance and blushed, looking down as he held onto the cravat in embarrassment. 

“He looks amazing, Armin. Doesn’t even look like the same person.” Eren said with a smile.

“I’m just glad those clothes fit him.” Armin sighed in relief as he left the room to help bring in their dinner. Eren led Levi to the table and held a chair out for him to sit. Levi looked at him before sitting; his eyes widened a bit when Eren pushed the chair back in. 

“What’s his name then?” Mikasa questioned as she sat in her own chair.

“Uhm…he can’t talk.”

“Convenient. Can he write?” She asked as she looked to Levi skeptically. Levi nodded in response to her question. 

“Armin, can you bring a pen and paper?” Eren called out

“Sure thing!” He heard him call back. 

As the table was set with their meal, Armin placed the pen and paper in front of Levi while the other servants were serving them their dinner. 

“Levi. Your name’s Levi?” Eren asked him as read the paper.

“What? No last name?” 

“That’s not important, Mikasa.” He smiled at Levi, “It’s nice to meet you, Levi. I’m Eren and that is my sister, Mikasa.” Levi nodded as he glanced at his plate and then to the utensils. He watched Eren and Mikasa eat first before realizing how he was supposed to. 

“I was thinking, maybe tomorrow you would like to see a tour of the kingdom?” Levi smiled and nodded immediately. 

“Great. First thing tomorrow morning then.”


	6. Just a Kiss

Levi watched in awe as the horse-drawn carriage he and Eren were riding in went through the kingdom. Eren couldn’t help but smile as he watched Levi.

“You act as though you have never seen such buildings before.” 

Levi glanced up at Eren, smiling slightly as he shrugged. It was true. He had only seen these images in the books he had found in abandoned shipwrecks. 

“So, on with the tour!” Eren said excitedly. “This here is our plaza. We hold festivals and parties of all sorts here. As you can see the villagers are all finishing the preparations for tonight’s festival. There will be lots of amazing food, games, and at the very end we have a gigantic fireworks display.” Eren motioned with his hands on the word “gigantic.” 

Levi covered his mouth his hand in a silent laugh as he watched Eren. Honestly, he still couldn’t believe he was here on actual land with him. He just hoped he was able to get that kiss before his third day was up. He didn’t want to think of the consequences if he failed.

Eren smiled and rested his chin in his hand as he watched Levi. Even though the boy hadn’t been able to speak, Eren felt like he knew him all too well. He caught Levi’s gaze for only a moment, causing them both to look away with a slight blush on his face. He glanced back over at him when the carriage came to a stop. Levi glanced around again, seeing couples dancing in the square to music that was being played in the streets.

“Did you want to dance?” Eren asked him. Levi blinked and cocked his head to the side in response.

“Do you not know how to? Come on, it’s easy.” Eren stood up and exited the carriage first before holding out a hand for Levi. Levi bit his lip slightly before taking Eren’s hand and stepping out as well. 

“Alright now stand up straight and firmly hold onto my hand.” Eren took a leading position, grasping Levi’s right hand and placing his other on his shoulder blade. “Just follow my lead. One, two, three. One, two, three.” Eren repeated as Levi reluctantly kept looking down at his feet, causing him to continue to mess up and step on Eren’s shoes every so often. He huffed in irritation and frowned. 

“It’s alright. Just try not to look at your feet. Feel the music with your body.” Levi nodded and tried again. He started to get the hang of it before he somehow tripped over his own feet, falling into Eren. 

“Are you okay?” Levi’s eyes widened when he glanced up, seeing how close he was to Eren’s face. He wanted to move away but his body wouldn’t allow him to. “Let’s uhm…let’s get back in the carriage, yeah?” Eren said as he straightened both of them up; guiding Levi back over as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. 

Levi sat back down and blew some hair from his face as the carriage started to move again. He didn’t want to meet Eren’s stare right now. He felt his face flush as he recalled how he embarrassingly fell onto him. He may have wanted a kiss, but he wasn’t trying to force himself on him.

“Are you alright, Levi?” Eren asked him, lightly placing a hand on his knee. Levi glanced up and nodded his head before staring back out at the kingdom. He glanced up at the sky as the sun was slowly starting to set. His second day was soon going to come to an end and he felt he hadn’t made any sort of progress.

“Come on, let’s go have some fun. I’m sure you’re hungry.” Eren said to Levi. He was going to respond before blushing as his stomach growled. Eren laughed a bit and signaled for the driver to stop in the middle of the plaza. “You can head on home, Sir, we can walk back after the festival is over.” The driver nodded in acknowledgment to Eren before heading back towards the castle. 

Eren took Levi’s hand in his own as he led him towards one of the many food stands. There were so many people in the plaza now that Levi was starting to feel claustrophobic. He didn’t like all of the people that crowded him back in the ocean, he really didn’t like it now. He ended up clinging to Eren so that he wouldn’t lose him in the crowd. Eren smiled fondly and held him close, feeling how tense the shorter male was beside him. 

“Here, try this.” Eren handed him a sandwich with some sort of meat on it that Levi didn’t recognize from the food he had seen at the castle. It did smell really good however, so he took it without question and took a bite of it. 

“That is a brisket sandwich. They are really common at our festivals and they are super messy sometimes. You really seem to like it though.” Eren noted as Levi continued to eat. “So, when the fireworks start the best place to watch them is from the water. What would you say of going out into the water with me. We can just float around in one of the boats while we wait.” Levi agreed with him causing Eren to smile. He waited for Levi to finish eating before taking his hand again.

They made their way to the boat docks, where Eren had them both fitted for a life jacket. Eren needed one since he couldn’t swim anyways, but it was precautionary for everyone who went out in the water. Eren stepped into the boat first and held out a hand for Levi, who carefully sat down across from him. 

“Look at them, Farlan~” Isabel cooed as they watched from a distance. 

Farlan shook his head, “This isn’t going to end well at all.”

“They almost kissed earlier though. Didn’t you see?” 

“Almost doesn’t cut it.I’m so sick of being pulled through this hair-brained scheme. If something doesn’t happen tomorrow, then it’s all over.”

“Then why don’t we help them?”

“Because, Isabel, I am tired of dealing with this. This was his own stupidity for going through with it.”

“But if he fails something bad is going to happen to him. You know that.”

He sighed, “Fine, follow me.” Farlan dived back into the water with Isabel following behind. 

Farlan ended up behind their boat, swimming backwards in sync with Eren’s rowing. Levi’s eyes widened when he caught sight of him slightly before he started to sing softly. 

“There, you see him, sitting there across the way. He don’t have a lot to say, but there’s something about him. And you don’t know why, but you’re dying to try. You wanna kiss the boy.” Farlan whispered the last three words a bit closer to Eren’s ear. 

“Did you hear something?” Eren turned and looked around him, not seeing anything. Levi shook his head quickly, returning Eren’s attention to himself. 

Farlan made his way back behind them, “Yes, you want him; look at him you know you do. It’s possible he wants you too, there is one way to ask her. He won’t say a word not a single word; go on and kiss the boy.”

“There it is again. What is that?” Eren asked himself. Levi simply smiled at him, shrugging. Levi moved a little closer, lightly placing a hand on Eren’s knee.

Eren sighed, “I want to ask you so many things. Get to know you. Where you came from. It’s just so difficult when you can’t speak to me.” Eren went silent for a moment as he thought. “You were so fascinated by all the buildings as if it were your first time seeing them. Were you maybe raised on a ship, it wrecked, and you lost your voice from the trauma?” Levi scrunched up his face a bit and shook his head. 

“Yeah, I thought that would be too easy. There’s no way you’re the guy who saved me. He was singing. You can’t even speak.”

Levi smiled and nodded.

“Please, don’t lie to me. There’s no way. How did you lose your voice?”

Levi sighed and looked down. 

“I guess it doesn’t matter.” Eren smiled softly and placed a hand on top of Levi’s. “It could be true. You feel so familiar to me. I really like spending time with you. You’re better than half the people my parent’s have tried to set me up with. How you’ve been acting around me, I have the feeling you like spending time with me too.” 

Eren stopped rowing the boat when they were at the center point of where the fireworks would be set off. Levi jumped slightly when he the crack of a firework illuminate the sky which caused Eren to laugh again. 

“You really are such a mystery. I really want to get to know more about you.” Eren said before he moved a bit closer to Levi. Levi’s face flushed and tried to stay still. He didn’t want to ruin being in such close proximity again. Levi closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at Eren.

"What are you doing, Levi?" Eren placed a hand on Levi’s cheek. Levi opened his eyes again and blinked at him. His eyes widened slightly when Eren was leaning in towards him. Levi felt the breath leave his body and was about to meet him halfway before the boat tipped over; dumping them both into the water.

“That was a close one. Too close!” Jean yelled as he watched Levi and Eren through his crystal ball. “That little tramp. Ugh he’s better than I thought.” He swam over and grabbed a feel bottles from his cabinets with his tentacles. “At this rate, he’ll be kissing him by sunset for sure. Well, it’s time I took matters into my own tentacles.” He threw the bottles violently into his cauldron, causing the room to have an eerie glow to it now.

“Ackerman’s son will be mine.” He sneered before smirking and grasping the shell necklace around his neck. “I’ll make her writhe. I’ll see her wriggle like a worm on hook.” An orange glow began to consume Jean’s body as he laughed manically, a transformation of his own taking place.


	7. Wedding Crashers

Eren was leaning against the balcony outside his room as the moon was settling into the sky. He was glad the festival had ended before the fog came in and ruined the fireworks display. He rested his chin in his hand as he hummed the song that had been plaguing his mind for days. The same song that his rescuer had sung to him. 

“What is it about him that is so wonderfully, impossibly familiar? Whenever I look at him, time seems to stop. It makes me feel dizzy like I did once before. Almost like it did that day.” He glanced out to the seashore and saw the mysterious person saving him again. “But, God, I need to know who that voice belongs to.” Eren sighed and closed his eyes, reopening them when he heard footsteps behind him.

“Eren?”

“Hm? What is it, Armin?”

“If I may suggest, instead of going on about some dream guy…” Armin paused and glanced up to the window that still had a light on, “You have a nice, warm, and caring guy just a few rooms away from you.”

Eren met Armin’s stare, smiling slightly. “Yeah, he is pretty great huh.” 

“It’s getting late. You should head to bed soon.” Armin suggested.

“I’ll get right on that.” He watched Armin go back inside before glancing back out towards the ocean. He looked back up at Levi’s room, seeing the light go out before he decided to head back inside as well. 

“Aa-aa-aah, a-aa-aah.” Eren’s eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks, turning back around and looking down at the beach. 

“There’s no way…” He squinted his eyes, seeing a male figure walking alongside the water as the singing continued.

“Aa-aa-aah, a-aa-aah. Aa-aa-aah, a-aa-aah. Aa-aa-aah, a-aa-aah.” Eren caught sight of what looked to be a glowing necklace. There seemed to be a golden mist that came out of it, making its way towards Eren. His eyes changed at the end of the last syllable sung.

Levi was still sound asleep the next morning, cuddling into the blankets and pillows that surrounded him. 

“Levi!” He heard the sound of someone calling his name from outside, but he was too comfortable to actually want to move.

“Levi, I know you hear me!” He groggily opened his eyes and went over to the window as he rubbed his eyes, his hair messed up from tossing and turning. He saw Hanji and Isabel outside the window in the shallow parts of the water. He made a gesture for them to speak as he continued to wake up.  
“Congratulations, Levi! We did it!” Isabel cupped her hands around her mouth so her voice traveled. Levi cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“Don’t give us that look. There’s rumors all over the kingdom. They are saying that Eren is getting married this afternoon.” Hanji told him. Levi blinked as he thought over what they were saying. It took him a few seconds longer than it should have before he ran away from the window. He went to the mirror and fixed his mussed-up hair, not worrying about changing his clothes as he left the bedroom. He stopped by the top of the stairs, hiding behind a pillar as he saw Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Eren’s parents, and a stranger in the hall. 

“Well done, Eren, I was mistaken.” Armin told him. “It seems this mystery guy you’ve been raving about actually exists.” Levi narrowed his eyes as he watched this stranger cling to Eren with a smile on his face. The had two-toned hair and brown eyes as he glanced up at Eren. 

“And I suppose he is attractive as you’ve said.” Mikasa intervened. “Congratulations you two.” The man smiled to Mikasa. 

“We wish to be married right away.” 

Grisha and Carla were taken aback slightly, “Why yes of course, Dear, but these things do take time.” Carla told him. 

“This afternoon, Mother. The wedding ship departs at sunset.”

“Hm, very well Eren. I have been pushing you to get married, so as you wish.” Carla hugged her son before pulling Grisha away to start with preparations. Armin and Mikasa followed them. 

Levi covered his mouth to fight back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. He ran back down the hallway, feeling completely embarrassed, as he quickly made his way back to the room he was staying in. 

“Well, Eren, I suppose I should go get ready myself.” The stranger let go of Eren’s arm and sauntered down the hall in the direction Armin went. He took hold of the shell necklace around his neck and smirked, laughing slightly to himself. “All according to plan.” 

Hours passed as Levi was seen sitting on the docks with his knees up to his chest as he watched the wedding ship sail away into the distance. He closed his eyes as a few stray tears seemed to drip down into the water. It was midday and he knew he only had a few hours left before the sun set.  
“We’re really sorry, Levi…” Isabel said as she swam up to the dock, resting her head on her arms. “Hanji and I really thought it was you…”

Farlan frowned a bit as he watched his friend suffer in silence, “I’m really sorry, Levi.”  
Hanji felt bad that she had gotten her friend’s hopes up like that. She couldn’t face him just yet so she decided to venture off towards the land to look for some more sea glass. She cocked her head to the side as she saw a small object shining in the sunlight. She scooped it up and dove back into water, finding a nearby rock to sick on so she could examine the object better.

She brought the small bauble up to her eyes, noticing she could see through it. She smiled and looked around, catching a glimpse of the wedding ship. Hanji could see into one of the windows on its bottom floor where Eren’s mysterious soon-to-be husband was prepping for the wedding. Hanji hopped off the rock as the ship seemed to remain dormant, finding a rock that seemed to be close enough for her to hear and see him. She needed to find something about this guy that seemed to ruin Levi’s chances at being human.

The mysterious man started to sing to himself in front of the mirror. “What a perfect husband soon I’ll be. My dear I look divine~” He chuckled to himself as seemed to slick his hair back.  
“Things are working out according to my ultimate design.” He picked up a loose pin from his suit and threw it at the vanity mirror. “Soon, I’ll have that little Merprince, and the ocean will be mine.” He tilted the mirror back so that his reflection showed his true self. The human that was laughing maniacally to the mirrored image was none other than the Warlock who had granted Levi his legs in the first place.

Hanji gasped and dropped the small lens back into the water, “The Warlock. I have to tell Levi. He needs to know now.” She jumped into the water and quickly made her way to the docks where Levi was still sulking. 

“Levi! Levi!” 

Isabel glanced over at Hanji and grabbed her by her shoulders once she was close enough, “Whoa, slow down. What’s wrong?” 

“Levi, I was swimming…well of course I was swimming. I found this little shiny thing along the beach and I could see through it. So, I swam out and tried to see more things up close. The ship…that ship came into view. And I saw that fiend. That evil man. He was watching into a mirror and singing with a stolen set of pipes.” Levi looked at her confused. 

“Do you hear what I’m trying to tell you?!” She reached up and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him in sync with her syllables. “The Prince is marrying the Warlock in disguise!”

“Are you sure about this?” Farlan questioned her with his arms crossed. 

“Have I ever been wrong? I mean when it’s important.”

“What are we going to do?” 

_“Before the sun sets on the third day.”_

Levi stood up and glanced around, standing on the edge of the dock as he looked at the ship; he had a look of determination on his face. Without a second thought, Levi dove into the water as he waved his arms a bit to keep himself afloat. 

“Crap. Levi!” Isabel and Hanji looked around quickly before grabbing a barrel and taking it to him to act as a life preserver.

“Isabel, grab the rope on that barrel and get him to that ship as quickly as possible.” Farlan instructed.

“I’ll try.” She took hold of it and began to swim away.  
“What about me? What should I do?” Hanji asked him.

“Find a way to stall that wedding. Call up some sea creatures. Do something. I need to get to the Queen.” Farlan dove into the water as Hanji smirked to herself. She screeched as she swam through the waters, making sure to get any sort of water-dwelling animal to follow her to the ship. 

“Move it, move it! Let’s go! We have an emergency here!” She yelled to them as they drew nearer to the ship. 

XxX

An organ was being played as Jean and Eren were walking in sync down the aisle. All of the patrons that had showed up for the wedding, bowed their heads as they walked by. 

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two people in holy matrimony. Do you Eren take Jean to be your lawfully wedded husband for as long as you both shall live?” Jean glanced over at the sun as it started to set, smirking to himself as he returned his attention to the minister.

“I do.”

“And do you Jean take Eren…” Jean tuned out the minister and raised an eyebrow as he heard a foul screeching sound getting closer to them. He looked up, his eyes widened suddenly as a group of birds dive-bombed at him. He ducked and glared at them before a group of pelicans began to spill mouthfuls of water onto him. 

Seals hopped up onto the deck, causing the wedding guests to scatter as chaos ensued. A lobster had crawled up Jean’s back and pinched his nose. He screamed out in pain before multiple starfish attached themselves to him. 

He began to pull them off and fling them, “Get off of me you slimy little-oof” A seal had appeared behind him and began to bounce Jean off his nose much like how it would with a rubber ball. He was bounced across the deck before the final seal tossed him into the wedding cake. 

The sound of glass shattered as Levi had finally managed to climb up onto the ship. His mouth was agape as he saw the chaos. He shook his head knowing that Hanji had to be the cause of it. 

Jean huffed irritably as he wiped some of the cake and icing off of him. He glanced over to the side of the ship as dolphins jumped up to meet him, squirting water all over him. A seagull got up in Jean’s face and squawked loudly before taking the shell necklace in its beak.

“Why you little.” Jean grabbed it by its throat and tried to shake the necklace from its mouth. One of the guest’s dogs had gotten free from its lead as it barked. It ran up to Jean and bit him right on his ass. 

“Ah!” Jean exclaimed as he fell backwards, the shell necklace ripping off and shattering on the ground at Levi’s feet. A golden glow appeared from the broken shell as it made its way up towards Levi; the voice that had been haunting Eren singing the whole way up. Eren’s eyes went back to normal as he held his head slightly, shaking it to try to steady his vision.

“Aa-aa-ah. Aa-aa-ah. Aa-aa-ah. Aa-aa-ah.” The final syllables coming from Levi’s mouth and his hand touched his throat, smiling slightly as he had his voice back. 

“Levi?” 

“Eren.” 

“You…you can talk.” Eren smiled and went over to him. “You’re the one.”

“Eren, get away from him.” Jean’s true voice came out as he covered his mouth with his hand.

“It…It was you all the time.”

“Eren, I wanted to tell you.” Jean gritted his teeth as he watched the two get closer.

“Eren, no!”

Levi closed his eyes as he grunted slightly in pain, sinking back down to the deck. Eren’s eyes widened when he saw Levi in just his shirt with a tail instead of legs. 

Jean glanced up and saw the sun had disappeared, “You’re too late.” He laughed, “You’re too late!” Lighting struck the deck as his true self appeared. The guests all shrieked in terror as he continued to laugh, making his way towards Levi. He scooped him up into one of his arms, perching himself over the railing slightly as Levi fought against the tentacles that held him captive.

“So long Lover Boy.” Jean smirked as he plunged them both into the water.

“Levi!” Levi could see Eren reach towards him up at the surface.


End file.
